F r a c t a l
by P h a n t o m W i s h
Summary: It's as if he were a mirror, he reflected what they didn't want to see, the truth. And so, he was dropped, he broke, and as if he would bring bad luck through his scattered remains, he was thrown away. Then forgotten… AU, one shot about Beast Boy. No longer a one-shot!
1. Prologue

Shattered. Shattered. Shattered…

That's exactly what he was, that's exactly what he had become, and it's exactly what he had done…

Shattered.

He had been pushed, he had been shoved, he had been broken, he had been buried, and he had been forgotten. He was forced into oblivion, forced into madness, and he had crumbled. There was no redemption for him, he wasn't exhumed; he was not cared for nor thought of. He was pushed aside as if he was dead, no… Not even that anymore. He was pushed aside as if he were nothing… Completely, utterly, and absolutely nothing… But, then again you don't really need to shove aside nothing do you? Because that's just what it is. Nothing. And, apparently that's what he was too… Nothing.

It's as if he were a mirror, he reflected what they didn't want to see, the truth. And so, he was dropped, he broke, and as if he would bring bad luck through his scattered remains, he was thrown away. Then forgotten… you'd think someone would care about that broken mirror, try to repair it or something… Well, actually, who would want to repair a mirror that is shattered, if they could just get a new one? Could you even do that with people? Apparently so…

Maybe a person who didn't have enough money to buy a new mirror, would want to repair the old one. But even if they didn't have the money, they would still throw him away. Because they were just waiting for him to crack, so they had an excuse to dispose of him. Wipe him off the face of the Earth and completely rid the world of him. They wouldn't let Heaven, or even Hell for that matter, take him. He was suffering in silence, darkness, nothing…

There's that word again. Nothing. That's what he was slowly becoming, shattering, crumbling, falling, spiraling, rotting, breaking, into nothing… He could no longer laugh in the light of day and he could no longer run with the wind; he could no longer speak with confidence strummed into his voice. If he even had a voice anymore. And it's not like he'd ever done any of those things more than twice before anyway. He didn't even know what happiness was anymore, in fact, he never knew true happiness. All he knew was grief, sadness, and heart ache…

He had no one to live for, no one to live for him, no one to love, no one to call to, no one to hear, no one to love him. He was never free, he was never happy, he was never loved, he was never wanted, he was never seen, he was never noticed, he was never heard. He was never saved…

This is all he ever had, and it was just what he was, nothing… Wait, I'm wrong. He had one thing. Someone to be saved from. And that was it; that was exactly it. Still nothing, still shattered, still un-loved, still broken, still crumbling, Still falling, still dying…

Until now…


	2. Hello There!

**A/N: Hallo! Hallo! Thanks to all of you who reviewed: Renton-torston, Nick(guest), blacksmoke14, CartoonGurl201m, and a special thanks to KingWykkyd57. You really made me think about what you said, and after some consideration, I decided you are right! So attention all, this is not a BB/Rae! Though there will be a splash of romance here and there. I hope to see this story become something great! **

**Anyway, happy reading!**

**Disclaimer: I... Just... Do you really think I own anything more than this plot?!**

_** Chapter 1: Hello there!**_

Rachel Roth: A Junior student of Jump City high, unnoticed and stoic, currently works as a barista at a local Star Bucks. She has a sharp tongue, plays the violin, and isn't one for playing games. In fact, some would say she is the queen of sarcasm, and then some. But that's not to say she was a bad, or rude person. No, she can actually be quite kind, that is, if you don't get on her nerves. Oh, and as you've probably guessed, yes. She is a loner. She has a bit of a rough family life, so as one would assume, she doesn't like to talk about it. She doesn't really stick out and she stays out of the way for the most part. She is usually quiet and likes to read, and is always known to keep to herself.

Until now…

Victor Stone: Undeclared, Senior star player quarterback of Jump City high. He is outgoing, practically a genius, well known throughout JCH, works at a mechanic's shop, and is quite the trouble maker. He loves to play a good prank or two, and is also known to be a 'one night stand' kind of guy. Well, that's what all the girls say anyway. He strong willed and stubborn, but if you mess with him, there'll be Hell to pay. He's always up for skipping class to go home and play a round of video games. He thinks he's 'All that' and more, and he even thinks he get away with practically anything.

Until now…

Richard Grayson: A tough, slightly narrow minded Senior of Jump City high school. With a past to jerk tears from damn near anyone, he has become the strong, leader-like, strict, admirable, young man you see today. He runs track, is quite popular, and is practically filthy rich. Well, his adoptive dad, Bruce Wayne, is filthy rich, but same thing, right? He knows karate, and martial arts, he had asked to be taught how to fight. See, ever since his parents were murdered, he vowed to avenge them, and kill the bastard who did it. In fact, that's practically what his whole life revolved around, other than his obvious crush on the Cooking Club owner.

Until now…

Kori Anders: A bubbly, over-the-top, silly, quirky Junior of Jump City high school. She is a transfer student from some place called Tameran, which according to her IS a real place, apparently. She is the founder of the Cooking Club, though she can't cook for shit. As weird as she can be at times, she is well liked, save a few bullies/assholes here and there. She is currently unemployed, but is looking. She has a crush on the best track runner of the school, though she doesn't think he likes her (which he totally DOES!). Since she transferred she has been set on fitting in at school and trying her best to be up to date on all the new trends and styles, so she could seem normal. She doesn't want to feel different from the rest of her peers.

Until now…

And so begins our tale of awkwardness, healing, heartache, comfort, and the rest of all that high school drama stuff. But this story focuses on none other than our beloved Garfield Logan, who, as some might say, is totally mental. Others might say that he's grand potential friend quality, but who might those people be? Well, I'm sure you all know...

**A/N: I know, I know. It's just as short as the last one! ARGH! But it's okay, cause the next one will be longer I promise! So, constructive criticism is welcome, and please review, they seriously help me get off my lazy ass to type more! XD**


	3. Patience

**AN: Okay, let me start off saying: I'm reaaaaaalllly really super sorry it took me forever to update! You can kill me if you want, but then I couldn't continue the story. Whatever floats your boat man... But as I promised this chapter is longer, and it's also the ****_official first chapter! YAY! Also there's a little cussing in this one, nothing too major (just thought I'd let you know!). Anyway, please enjoy!_**

**Disclaimer: Oh, wait. I own Teen Titans?! Yeah, NO. I think I'd know if I did...**

**_FRACTAL-Official chapter 1- Patience_**

Patience…

What he needed right now, was patience. And he needed a lot. His doctors needed it too. The fact that he had been stuck for years, and was shattered practically beyond repair, was enough pull anyone who tried to fix him for a loop. He had finally been saved, but he still hadn't been given salvation. He was rescued, but he wasn't freed. He was certainly hoping that he would be freed, and from how long he waited to be saved, he could definitely wait to be freed. For a little while at least…

"…-ou feel?" Garfield drifted out of his mind back into reality. He waited a moment before he spoke.

"…What?" He said in somewhat of a daze. His voice had a rasp to it. It was as if the morning fog outside of the building had found its way inside and sunk into his brain. And of course his doctor noticed… Every time too. He didn't like these doctors. He'd never been to one before a few weeks ago, and now that he had, he didn't like how easily they figured him out. The time when he was trapped, the time when he didn't exist, had made him vulnerable to the world, and ignorant to what was happening around him. He'd lost so much time when he could've been learning and enjoying life. Instead he had been locked away, left to rot and hating himself…

"I said: How do you feel?" She repeated. She, being Dr. Smith, or as she had asked Garfield to call her, Rebecca. But he never actually called her Rebecca; he always called her Dr. Smith. Well, when he actually addressed, or even talked, to her. She didn't seem to like that, but he couldn't help it. He had learned not to trust people. He had learned to stay in the background and shut up, to hide his feelings, not to voice his opinion, to fear other human beings…

As to how he felt, he wasn't sure he could describe it. He felt unsteady, like he had taken too much medicine. Oh, yeah. That was another thing he didn't like about this place- The medicine. He didn't take it at all the first few days they'd try to give it to him. But they said if he kept taking them every day, and if he talked to a therapist every day, that with a little patience he'd get better. So he'd done all those things, it hadn't done much yet, but then again he hadn't been here that long either. Still, he didn't feel that great… At all actually. He was eternally grateful that someone had found him, and they took him from that horrible, awful place. But he had been damaged. Physically and emotionally. He was found beaten, not that it had been new to him, but the person that found him seemed surprised. Especially when they showed an emotion in their eyes he'd never seen before. He now knew it as concern. He still hadn't fully grasped the emotion, but he would begin to understand it more over time. Or so he was told…

But his mind was tainted, stained… He couldn't get rid of the cracks in his psyche that allowed unbearable thoughts to leak trough, or the nightmares that he'd never be able to wash away. Sometimes he still couldn't hold back his screams of agony. He'd barely slept at all last night. He'd stayed up shaking and attempting to hold back tears and screams. And now he just really wanted to sleep, but it seemed impossible. He just couldn't. He could feel the skin under his eyes sag and his eyelids were heavy. He was sure you could see the ring of darkened skin around his eyes. He realized he still hadn't answered Dr. Smith's question.

"…Fine." He said. She looked him over, studying him with her curious brown eyes, then sighed. They were sitting alone in a small carpeted room. It was ridiculously plain with four even walls and two chairs in the middle of the room. At least the chairs were comfortable, otherwise Garfield didn't think he could stand being in here a full hour, and he'd only been in here eight minutes so far this morning… They'd figured out that Garfield did much better with one on one therapy sessions then he did with a group. In fact, when he was around more than two people at a time, he quieted and would not speak. He didn't talk much as it is; it took them nearly fifty-eight hours just to get his name when he first arrived. Even with one on one sessions he barely spoke, but it was better than nothing. They'd figure it all out eventually, and that scared him…

"Gar, you nee-"

"Garfield." He interrupted her. He hadn't gotten used to that nick name yet, and he honestly didn't like her using it either. He would've been nicer about it, but he wasn't taught manners or how to deal with people accordingly. But he thought he'd get the hang of it eventually, with a little patience.

"Garfield," She 'corrected', "You need to tell me the truth. Lying isn't a good way to do anything. Now I can tell you're tired," Figures…"what happened last night? Did you get any sleep?" He shrugged. "Nightmares?" She pressed. He sniffed and looked away. She sighed again as she jotted something down in the notebook on her lap. He picked at the wooly material of his sweat pants. Garfield wasn't too sure why he couldn't seem to keep a conversation up with anybody. Everyone he'd talked to- well, more like listened to- had been really nice. And as nice as the people were in the hospital, he didn't like the place. When he was first found and the nurse had begun cleaning him up, he thought she was going to strike him at first. It was a whole ordeal, but they all seemed so patient and tolerant. He'd actually felt some kind of remorse- or something or the sort, he wasn't quite sure- for all the trouble he'd caused these people.

Man, he just wanted to get out of here and get some sleep, or at least be able to lie down and relax-or try to anyway…

"The nightmare, what was it about?" Garfield felt his jaw and hands begin to shake just thinking about it. He kept his gaze on the floor as he shook his head, not wanting to relay the dream. "If you want to get better you need to talk to people." She said.

"No." He responded, his voice had a slight quiver to it. She sat there across from him for a moment, studying his actions. She was getting nowhere…

"Why not?" She asked. He ran a hand through his messy blonde hair, and sighed. He contemplated whether he should tell her what he actually thought, then opted for what he found to be the easier option.

"I… I just can't," was all he managed. He feared that when they found out the truth, they would do exactly what that monster had done to him. And he didn't think he could deal with that again, even though he believed he deserved it. In fact, he felt that what had happened to him now was just a really good, vivid dream, and that he'd wake up to another kick in the head. Rebecca wrote something else into her notebook. They both felt as though they might never get any answers to anything they asked. But what they really need right now is a little patience…

**0x0x0x0x0x0x0**

A melody cracked through the air, the sound emanating through the room and bouncing off the walls back into the expert ears of the artist. Note after note forming one of the more classic works. Pale hands guided a bow across suspended wire chords. Each one was thinner than the last, and every one made their own unique sound. But when their sounds combined, they could make one of the most beautiful cadenzas you've probably ever witnessed. Well, if you like that sort of thing anyway…

The song continued to drift in the otherwise silent apartment; then the tune went sour. Damn, she missed a note. That was the part she could never get right, too.

"Crap. I thought I had it that time…" She spoke to herself. She leaned forward from her chair, picked up a pen that rested on the music stand in front of her, and circled the section in the music paper she needed to work on. Then she gripped her bow, and tried again. And again, she messed up on the same spot. It was as if that very part despised her. She wasn't sure if it was the combination of notes, or the old violin she had to play on. She desperately needed a new one, and a new bow too… She'd have to pay for one herself. It was actually the reason she didn't have a quality violin or bow yet.

She'd have to pay for everything herself, because God knows her father wouldn't do it. That stupid bastard… Rachel absolutely _hated_ the man. He-… No. She wasn't going to let her mind slip to that asshole. Not right now at least. She flipped to another page in her music book, then began to play a different song. This particular song was one of her favorites. It had a sad melody, and the tune was melancholy. It made Rachel think about her own life. With each long stroke of the bow in her hand the instrument created one sob of a note after another.

But it was the end of the song that was her favorite part. The sound the violin made turned lighthearted, and happy. It was this part of the piece that gave Rachel hope. She had always compared the song so strongly to herself that she hoped her life could end just like it; happy. She hoped that one day this work of emotion could represent her life. That she could walk a road not paved by man, but created by love, intertwined with vines of happiness and decorated with flowers of hope. And while she walked it, she hoped there could be a sun of confidence shining down upon her…

But these moments of hope never lasted very long and soon enough the song ended…

She could hear the elevator move up from the ground floor until it let out a 'ding!' at the other end of the building. She immediately knew who it was, which caused her to let out a sigh. She turned in her chair to check the clock on her nightstand next to her bed. 12:09pm. Good, she needed to leave for work anyway. She heard the jingling of keys and the door handle rattle as the front door was opened and closed, though it had been muffled by the walls and floor. The door closed and footsteps echoed through the first floor of the apartment. The sound carried up the stairs and past the room that Rachel was in.

Before she heard anything else, Rachel grabbed her jacket off the hook next to the door and left her room. She began heading down the stairs but was stopped by a gruff voice behind her. She stood, not turning as it spoke.

"Where are you going…?" Her father asked. God, she didn't want to deal with him right now.

"Work." She said over her shoulder, and continued down the stairs. She heard him grumble something as she made her way down the stairs. Luckily he didn't say anything else. Must've been busy. She walked out the door and began the journey to work.

The walk took a good 20 minutes. It's a good thing it was fall and not winter yet. Otherwise the stroll would become a run for survival. She was just glad it hadn't gotten _that _cold yet. She pushed through the doors of the coffee shop, and took a deep breath through her nose. It always smelt so good in here, and it was warm too. Even during the coldest weather. She loved her job, and she always thought being around the warmth and aroma of the coffee beans was relaxing. Especially after a rough day of school or something just as stressful. Or worse, her father…

"Rachel! Thank God you're here! I've been working for _ever_!" Said a girl who was waving frantically behind the counter. Though the real fact was she'd only been here for 5 hours…

"Stop exaggerating, Hailey…" Rachel responded with a bored tone, though she had the slightest of smirks playing on her lips.

"Do you have any idea how many cappuccinos I had to make?" The girl, Hailey, said. She put her hand to her hip to emphasize her point. Rachel just raised an eyebrow at her and responded in a sarcastic tone:

"It must've been horrific…" Hailey dropped her hand to her side and made a blank face. Then immediately brightened her face again as she reached to untie her apron.

"Well, I'm out! See ya later Rachel!" She took off her hat that had the Starbucks logo on it, and then shook her long brown hair out of its ponytail as she walked out the café. Boy, she was a peppy person, too bad Rachel would never understand how…

Rachel then went behind the counter as she slipped her hat on and tied her apron afterwards. No one was waiting in line, so she took the liberty of checking all their stocks, writing down what they needed more of. Eventually more people came in and ordered coffee or muffins or whatever else they might've had in stock that day.

After a few hours, when she was supposed get off, one of her co-workers called in and asked if she could take their shift. Seeing no bad side to it she took the extra shift. Hey, in her opinion, time away from her father and extra money earned was a plus in her book. Too bad right now the café was packed, it was always annoying when it got like this, but all Rachel could do was suck it up and pull out a little patience…

**0x0x0x0x0x0x0**

"And what sort of 'the qualifications' do you have Ms. Anders?" A high pitched female voice mocked that of a man's. The impression wasn't very good…

"Oh, I have lots of 'the qualifications' sir!" The girl responded to her 'employer' (aka. Herself). As she continued she counted the list with her fingers. "I can do 'the juggling', back flips, eat more mustard than humanly possible, or at least that is what my friends tell me… Oh! And I can do your make up too! Tee-he!" She finished, looking in front of her mirror.

"Okay," She responded to herself in her man voice, using some of her bright orange-ish pink hair as a make-shift mustache, "everything seems to be in order. I just have one more question for you Ms. Anders." She stated, almost finished with her 'practice interview'.

"Yes?" She asked in her real voice.

"What is that smell?" She wondered to herself in her man voice, fake mustache back in place. She put her finger to chin, and looked towards the ceiling in thought as she sniffed the air. Then she began speaking in her usual voice again:

"Hmm, I am not sure, perha-"Her already large green eyes widened even further. She dashed out of her room and down the stairs, officially ending her fake interview.

"Oh no!" Kori shouted as she burst into the kitchen. She stopped in front of the stove, quickly cut it off, and opened the oven. A huge cloud of smoke rolled out of the open oven door. Kori coughed through the smoke and tried to swat it away with the oven mitt she'd grabbed off the counter. When it cleared up enough for her to see she grabbed the pan that was inside, and sat it on the stove top. She looked at her now burnt… uh, whatever it was that was supposed to be in it, and said just a bit overdramatically:

"Aww! My fruggle berry cake!" She practically wept. Well, she WAS gonna give that to her hopefully-future-boss before her interview she had soon, but it looks like that went down the drain…(Which was probably a positive thing for her interviewers digestive system, if they even decided to eat the stuff, that is.)

Speaking of the interview it was… IN TEN MINUTES! Crap it was gonna take at least that amount of time to get there. She left the 'cake' where it was, deciding to clean the pan later, and ran out the door. She raced down the street as fast as she could.

She was lucky she had long legs, otherwise she would've missed the interview completely, but she was late. Great.

She left the building with complete failure following her like a stupid, stinky storm cloud, raining bad luck. The interview went about like it did when she practiced it at home. Terrible. So it turns out all her 'qualifications' didn't qualify. How stupid was that!? The poor girl was beginning to believe she was never going to get a job…

When she got home she was going to try making a new fruggle berry cake. Hopefully she'd get it right next time. That along with the next job she tried to get. Lucky for kori, she was a very optimistic person, and she was grateful for that, because it allowed her make everything better, even if it seemed like it kept getting worse. She still had lots of things that she needed to work on. In fact she believed her life was just getting started, she believed that she had the whole world ahead of her, but it was blocked by a thick concrete wall that she needed to break through. But she knew that with a little practice and patience she'd eventually get past it.

**0x0x0x0x0x0x0**

Garfield was cornered. Quite literally, in fact. He had nowhere to run, whether it be from his problems, or his therapist.

"Garfield…" Rebecca said calmly to the hysterical mess in front of her that was tucked into the corner. He had his knees pulled to chest with a death grip on the sleeves of his T-shirt, and his head was bowed, hiding his face behind his arms. He was holding back whines and screams, all the while tears were making their way down his cheeks.

"Stop. Please… Stop, stop, stop, stop. Please, please just stop." Oh, how he wished the word 'please' would work. Too bad it was most likely the only bit of mannerisms that he knew. But he'd learned long ago that it never worked, and the word still refused to show its worth yet.

"Garfield, calm down. It's okay." She tried to calm him down, and crouched in front of him. Damn, in a mere hour she was able to turn him into a huge, depressed mix of emotions…

"Just go away! Please, God, please stop it." He shouted into himself. He was rocking slightly, trying to comfort himself. Stupid therapist, bringing up his, his… his…

Garfield lifted his head and moaned in pure agony, as if his insides were poison in his body. He laid his head against the wall behind him, and stared at the ceiling, his breathing unsteady.

"Deep breaths," Rebecca told him, doing her best to calm him down enough to talk to him, at least. He did his best doing what she said. Why he was doing what she said to begin with, he wasn't sure, but he listened nonetheless. He looked at her with his big green eyes. Maybe she could help him remember where he was, so he'd stop freaking out and having all these weird flash backs…

She studied him, trying to read his face, to see what he was thinking. He still had tears streaking his face, and his nose and cheeks were all red and feverish. He had so many emotions in his eyes. Too many… She couldn't figure them out, and she was sure he couldn't think straight. He was sitting there; just looking at her like his sanity depended on it. Which at this moment, it quite literally did, in fact.

Dr. Smith was right too. He couldn't think. His mind was numb, and his lips were too. He was still shaking, trying to regulate his breathing. She was still crouched in front of him, just watching him. It made Garfield feel uneasy. But it made him feel real at the same time, too. It helped him realize he wasn't invisible, and that somebody, this person, cared. Or at least she seemed to…

"I think that's enough for today, huh?" She said, "Do you want to go back to your room, Garfield?" He went to open his mouth to speak, but when he tried no words came out. He'd lost his voice for today. He nodded, and at that Dr. Smith stood and held her hand out to help Garfield up. He took it and tried to help her heave his own weight up.

It was a good thing he was near the wall, because as soon as he was up his head spun like crazy. He let go of Dr. Smith's hand, and leaned against the wall with his eyes closed, trying to focus so he could clear his brain enough to walk. He remembered to breathe, and was able to regain his movement. He slowly pushed himself off the wall, and found his footing.

Rebecca watched silently as Garfield gathered himself. This poor kid was still so young, and already so far gone. He was hurt, and broken, and he was lost. He was completely and utterly lost. He had walked all alone for all these years in the dark, until he finally just gave up. But luckily he had been found. He needed help. God, he really needed help. And she was determined to help him.

Garfield began walking towards the door using the wall to lean on along the way. She caught up to him and draped his arm around her shoulder. He didn't complain. He just wanted to get back to his room and sleep. They made their way back to his room eventually, with slight difficulty on both sides. Rebecca had to keep making sure he didn't fall; his weight was shifting dramatically from side to side. While Garfield was trying his hardest to keep his balance. The sleeplessness was finally catching up to him causing him to succumb to a half awake state, which was not benefitting from the walk (not to mention he was still kind of dizzy).

They reached his door, and Dr. Smith opened it for him. She helped him inside and sat him on his bed. She took this chance to glance around the room. The walls around Garfield's bed were dented in some spots, and the drywall was all scratched up. She could practically see Garfield here in the middle of the night, having panic attacks with no one there to help him. The few pieces of furniture that was in the room were strewn about and the room itself was messy. There were no windows. Sigh, they were treating the poor kid like an animal, and she knew this wasn't going to help his mental state. She made a mental note to tell that to one of the head doctors here, so they'd move him to a proper room. She looked back at Garfield. He was laid back across the bed with his knees bent over the side.

"Garfield. Sweetie, you need to lie down properly." She told him, while gently moving him to a proper sleeping position, so his body was fully on the bed. He groaned, but otherwise made no protest. When she finished moving him, he laid on his side. He was too tired to complain about Dr. Smith still being there. He just rolled over and let his eyes close, and he felt his mind go numb as unconsciousness took him over.

Rebecca looked down at the sleeping boy for a moment. Then she sighed, and walked out the room, shutting the door behind her. Fixing him was going to take a lot of time and effort, and it was certainly going to take more than her to do it. Maybe in a few months he could be placed with a willing guardian. They'd need to find somebody willing to care for him, of course. It probably wouldn't be easy, but they were bound to find somebody eventually…

Though she was getting ahead of herself. Right now she needed to worry about getting Garfield in the right state of mind or at least mentally healthy enough to be able to function properly.

She thought back to the first time she talked to him. He had looked horrible, and avoided eye contact. He hadn't even spoken. He looked like he was going to cry every time she asked him a question. He was just sitting there on his hospital bed, picking at the bandages that had been wrapped around his body. He'd looked so unbearably uncomfortable, and he seemed to cringe at the littlest things. The poor kid was suffering.

And he still was now. But she was determined to change that. She was going to help him. She felt obligated to. It was her job, and her passion to help people. And Garfield seemed to need the most help, according to her. He didn't need to worry about anything but getting better, and she wished he'd see it. As long as she had the patience, and put in enough effort, she could do it. And she would do it…

**AN: OH YEAH! Did it! Again I'm super uber duper sorry it took so long guys! But thanks for all the reviews last chapter, and I hope you're not too angry to leave another? And hopefully the next chapter won't take so long, and even better, be just as long, or even longer! XD**

**Anyway, see you guys later! Happy holidays!**


End file.
